Shuffle Challenge
by spookisapuppy
Summary: I finally decided to try one of these. :P
1. Chapter 1

_Alright, it finally happened. Against my better judgment, here's my Shuffle Challenge.

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_

_The Rules:_

1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.

2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.

3. Write a drabblet/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterward! No matter how whacked out your drabble is.

4. Do ten of these, then post them.

NOTE: "Drabble" is used in the sense of a short story, not an actual 100-words strictly or anything like that.

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_Oh, dear, here we go. Brace yourselves._

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**1. The Trees by Rush (04:44)**

There is unrest in the forest. The trees have been disturbed by two passing figures, dressed in gray and green. The intruders disturb nothing, moving past in a matter of moments, and remaining the animals do not notice their movements, they are kept completely oblivious by the strangers' light tread. But still, the trees watch them, shaking their heads. Who are they, to invade this forest? Who are they, to walk among these trees?

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_Why? This is such a hard song! If you listen to it, it's from the perspective of trees. It's a good song, the trees form a union in the end. But difficult to fit into RA. _

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**2. I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith (04:56)**

It was late. Will knew he should be sleeping right now, but he just couldn't. He lay on his side, and watched the gentle rise and fall of the blankets as his companion breathed. He could hear her soft breath, and feel her heart beat. Will just wanted to lay there, and stay in this moment, to make it last forever. Alyss was beautiful with her hair falling haphazardly around her face. He didn't want to close his eyes and fall asleep. He might miss something, and he didn't want to miss a thing.

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_Oh dear, I believe I just completely copied the song._

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**3. Feel That Fire by Dierks Bently (03:22)**

Cassandra was always just a little bit different. She didn't quite fit the image of a princess. she was daring and adventerous, stubborn and demanding. She didn't want to sit around sewing and planning parties, she wanted to be out clashing with swords. She wanted to go on journies to lands that no one had ever heard of. But most of all, she wanted to know that wherever she went, Horace would go with her.

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**4. Wide Open by Jason Aldean (04:00)**

Choosing Day. The most important day in the life of a Ward child. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life, though she'd had fifteen years to think about it. Her future was just a giant blank canvas, and she had no idea what picture her life would paint on it. All she knew was that, by the next day, her life would change. But, even now, as her Wardmates walked nervously down the hallway, she found the strength to whistle. She was young, and her future was wide open.

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_Well, that was random. :P_

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**5. Nobody Drinks Alone by Keith Urban (05:21)**

Halt slammed the tankard onto the table. The world was starting to get fuzzy, but not fuzzy enough. He gestured to the barkeep, who hurried to refill it. If he just kept this up, maybe he would be able to forget, to just not think for a while. Because, with the plan he was about to carry out, it would certainly help if he wasn't thinking. But no matter how much he drank he could still see the smiling face, the bright brown eyes. No matter how much he drank, he couldn't forget. Even when he felt the haze of the alcohol settling deeper in his brain, and a fog coated his vision, he could still see the eyes. No matter what he did, he couldn't forget. The memories would always stay with him. Because, drunk or not, the past was still there. Ghosts still haunted him. And so, he took a deep breath, and he stood up. Struggling not to sway on his feet, he forced himself to go through with the plan. "It has come to my attention that..."

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**6. Domestic, Light and Cold (04:01)**

Crowley sat at the bar and ordered another drink. He didn't care what it was, so long as it was cold. He drank tankard after tankard, but he still didn't feel drunk. Unlike Halt, who would have passed out onto the floor by now, Crowley could hold alcohol quite well. He shook his head. He didn't want to think about Halt right now. He loved his friend, and he was happy for him, he really was. Just like a good friend, a best friend, should be. It was just that, just this once, he needed to stew in his own misery. It was his own fault, really. He could have had Pauline, but he'd missed his chance. Stupid, stupid, mistake. He glanced to his left. A pretty woman with long black hair met his glance. He smiled. "Hi..."

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_What is this? Two drinking songs in a row?_

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**7. Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears (04:10)**

Didn't everyone think that they knew best? Offering advice, passing judgments. Everyone loved gossip, and they loved getting into other people's business. Maybe it was idle curiosity and boredom, or maybe it was the fact that people loved power, and controlling someone else gave them power. Everybody wants to rule the world, to rule everyone else's life. But all Halt wanted to rule was his own.

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_IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! _

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**8. Don't Stop Me Now by Queen (03:29)**

Tonight was perfect. Pauline could not remember a time that she had been more excited. She had just married Halt. She'd known him for well over twenty years, and had been romantically involved for much of that. And today, finally, she had become his wife. And now, she was dancing with him across the wide open floor, in front of hundreds of eyes. She looked up as the doors swung open, and saw the tired Skandian burst through. He had better not have the audacity to stop this perfect night.

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_Oh, how badly it doesn't make sense._

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**9. Love Done Gone by Billy Currington (03:31)**

It was nothing that either of them had done, it was just that something had changed. There was nothing they could do about it. For a time they had been closer than close, and Will might have fallen in love, but things had changed. Their lives had gone down separate paths, and it just wasn't going to happen. It wasn't either of their faults, and Will didn't regret all of the time they'd spent together. He wouldn't change a moment of their relationship, even the strained bits. He wasn't sure what exactly had happened between himself and Cassandra, he supposed they had just drifted apart. It was just that the love had gone.

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_Oh, and the nonsense continues. This one was extremely difficult because I wanted to sing along. Happiest sad song ever written people. Seriously. _

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**10. Do I by Luke Bryan (03:59)**

He wasn't sure what had happened. It seemed like they were just going through the motions these days. Nothing was the same as it had been. He could have acted like a complete stranger and it wouldn't have made a difference in their relationship.

He leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, but she remained stiff. Where was the spark? Will didn't feel one. Not the way he used to. He looked her in the eyes.

"Alyss, do I still make you happy?"

She remained silent.

"Do I?"

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_ Oh my gosh! That was so HARD! You have to switch gears so quickly, and then nothing makes sense, and it's all just so tiring! Much respect to those of you who have done several of these. I thought it would be difficult, but not quite like that. But it was fun. I enjoyed it. None of it makes much sense, but that's the point, right? My only lingering question is: Why did my MP3 player suddenly decide to play all of my country music? Oh, and reviews are nice. :P_


	2. Chapter 2

_ Alright, here's some more of these things. I don't really want to call them drabbles, because they're not. I shall think on the problem of giving them a name. And away we go. :P_

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**1. I Don't Even Know Your Last Name by Alan Jackson (3:53)**

Alyss drew back from Will. The kiss, her first, had left her short of breath and dizzy. She felt like floating, like the world had suddenly fallen into place. She saw the shocked look on Will's face and smiled. Surely, he was feeling just exactly as she did, a little surprised, but incredibly happy. In fact, she wouldn't mind having another kiss. And just then, sitting there in the inn at Wensley Village, Alyss realized that she was in love with this boy. The adventurous boy with the unruly hair and lively brown eyes. Her best friend since childhood. What an incredible revelation. She was in love with this boy, and she didn't even know his last name.

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**2. That's All by Genesis (4:24)**

Cassandra sighed. She thought it was going alright, but she'd just found out she was wrong. They were opposites, that was all. She could say black, and he would say white. It was a shame, really. She could leave, but that didn't feel right. It would be easier, she knew. Truth was, she loved him more than she wanted to, more than she knew she should. There had never been anyone who'd made her feel this way. She wished she could hear him say that everything was going fine, that they would always be together. But it just wasn't true. She could say day, he would say night. They just weren't meant to be together. It was a shame, that's all.

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**3. Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go) by Dierks Bentley (3:20)**

All I've got is a pair of boots and a sack of clothes. The sun's shining on me like a big spotlight, and I know everything is gonna be alright. Tug walks easily beneath me, enjoying this trip just as much as I am. I'm not quite sure where I'm headed, not even really sure why I left. But I've got a feeling that the next few days will show me what I need to see. Until then, I'll just sit back and try to enjoy the ride.

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_Oh, that one was so horribly awkward._

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**4. I Don't Care by Blake Shelton (3:54)**

There she was. Talking, laughing, with a new guy. Someone Halt had never seen before. He almost walked up to them, to confront her about this man. But he stayed back. Because, just then, he remembered that he wasn't supposed to care. Their relationship had been put on hold. She wasn't his anymore. She could do what she wanted, be with who she wanted. And that was what he wanted, wasn't it?

If it was, then why was he standing here in the shadows, watching her? Why did he keep forgetting that they were no longer together? He slipped past, heading back to the cabin that he inhabited alone. And there, tacked to the door, was a note that must have been left hours ago, right after he'd left. He ripped it off the door and let a rare smile cross his face. _Meet me for dinner?_ Who was he kidding? Of course he still cared.

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_Well that one made just about no sense at all. _

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**5. What About Me by Keith Urban (03:52)**

Sometimes Halt felt like everyone needed his attention. It seemed like he owed his time to everyone else, because that's all he seemed to do. He was constantly chasing down bandits, or thieves, always after some new threat. He did everything right, he did exactly what he was supposed to. He was a good Ranger, and he protected his fief and his country. But sometimes, he couldn't help thinking that he deserved a little time to himself. Just for a little while, he wanted to think about no one but himself. Did that make him selfish? Surely he couldn't spend his entire life thinking only about others. There were days passing in his life that he couldn't remember. Days that were so unextraordinary that they didn't place in his memory, but instead his life seemed to be passing in one extended blur. And so sometimes, he couldn't help thinking, _What about me?_

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_Oh, I do enjoy this song. If only because that's the way I feel some days. _

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**6. South Side of the Sky by Yes (7:58)**

Thunder rang out. Will had never known that thunder and lightening could occur during a snow storm. It seemed as though he had been traveling through this wilderness for years, when in reality it had only been a few days. And yet, an eternity could have passed in this landscape, and Will wouldn't have noticed. All around him, it was white. As far as the eye could see, white. A desert made of snow. It was always snowing here. It never melted, even though, during the summer, the sun never entirely went down. Will wandered aimlessly, knowing for a fact that he had no hope of regaining his sense of direction. Knowing that there was no chance that he would be able to get home again.

He was lost in this great white plain. He had no food, no shelter, nothing. Suddenly, he found himself lying on the ground, cheek pressed to the snow. He couldn't remember falling, though that must have been what had happened. He made no effort to get back up. For the first time in days he felt warm. Somewhere in the back of his sluggish mind he registered the fact that he was surely suffering from hypothermia, that he should get up and move, beat the blood back through his veins. But he couldn't find the will to move. He was so warm...

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_Well that was just about the longest song ever. Oh, poor Will. Why is it that I always end up hurting Will somehow in these things? I think I might have a problem._

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**7. A Farewell to Kings by Rush (5:53)**

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_Hey, that's the song I named my other story after. :)_

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It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining bright in the blue sky, and all around birds could be heard singing in the trees. Halt whipped the fishing line out over the water, careful not to rock the boat as he did so. He glanced over at Ferris for a moment, but his brother was still, concentrating on his own line. It was a rare moment of peace in the usually fiery relationship between the two brothers.

Halt pulled idly on his line. A fish? No, just a snag. He reached down to tug on the line and release the snag. As he did so he felt the boat slipping down lower than it should have, he felt a shove, and the next thing he knew he was in the water. He dropped his fishing line as he fell, and came up gasping for air. He struggled to tread water, soaking wet clothes dragging him down. He felt one boot come off.

Ferris looked at him, held out an oar. Halt reached for it, felt the incredible pain as it hit his shoulder, went under.

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_Oh, abrupt endings, how I loathe you. _

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**8. I Feel Bad by Rascal Flatts (3:19)**

Halt stared at the newly dug grave in silence. All of his ancestors were buried here, and now, so was his younger brother. He could feel Horace's concerned gaze on his back. He would rather claim that young man as family. He knew that he should be feeling something right now. Bitter, angry, saddened, something. But somehow, he was just glad that it was over. Ferris had cost him a lot of pain and suffering through the years. Maybe it was just that he was so tired of fighting. Whatever it was, Halt didn't feel a thing for his brother. He just felt bad that he didn't feel bad.

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_Oh, so babbly. Can babbly be a word? It is now. _

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**9. Distant Shore by Dierks Bentley (3:01)**

One day he would have a funeral. People would cry, and remember all of the good things about him, while conveniently forgetting all of the bad. The funny thing was, all he could remember right now was all of the bad points in his life. The sins that followed him downstream. But one day it wouldn't matter anymore. He would swim across that great ocean, and then, when he finally reached the banks of that distant shore, he would rest. And he wouldn't miss her anymore.

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**10. She Told Me So by George Strait (3:04)**

Pauline studied her husband. It was strange, knowing for a fact that someone loved her. Knowing that he might even love her more than she loved him. Or at least, that he might have loved her with fewer reservations. For example, she knew for a fact that Halt trusted her. She could say that there were roses blooming on the ice sheets in the northern parts of Skandia, and he would believe her. It would be so easy to lie to him, she thought. Anything she said he would believe, simply because she told him it was true.

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_ And so the madness ends. Now that I've given some thought to what to call these little stories, I've come up with a name. Are you ready for this? Dribbles! Because they aren't drabbles. They're not. I even thought up a metaphor. If you want to read it, here it is. If not, skip the next paragraph. _

_ Here's the metaphor: Imagine an ice cream cone. Generally, when you write a story it's like the big scoop of ice cream on top; nicely formed, all pretty and nice and delicious. But then you've got the edges of the scoop where the ice cream is starting to melt and drip down the cone. That's what these things are; the melty, unedited ideas. That doesn't mean they're any less delicious, they're just slightly harder to eat. Or, in the case of the story, to understand. And so, I shall call these little stories dribbles, in honor of the ice cream dribbling down the cone. _


End file.
